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Complex organosulfur molecules on comet 67P: Evidence from the ROSINA measurements and insights from laboratory simulations
Ehlmann, Bethany L.; Brown, Michael E.; Choukroun, Mathieu +9 more
The ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis) instrument aboard the Rosetta mission revolutionized our understanding of cometary material composition. One of Rosetta's key findings is the complexity of the composition of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Here, we used ROSINA data to analyze dust particles that were volatili…
Krypton isotopes and noble gas abundances in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Mall, Urs; Bar-Nun, Akiva; De Keyser, Johan +24 more
The ROSINA mass spectrometer DFMS on board ESA's Rosetta spacecraft detected the major isotopes of the noble gases argon, krypton, and xenon in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Earlier, it has been shown that xenon exhibits an isotopic composition distinct from anywhere else in the solar system. However, argon isotopes, within error, w…
Prebiotic chemicals--amino acid and phosphorus--in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Wurz, P.; Bochsler, P.; Altwegg, K. +29 more
The importance of comets for the origin of life on Earth has been advocated for many decades. Amino acids are key ingredients in chemistry, leading to life as we know it. Many primitive meteorites contain amino acids, and it is generally believed that these are formed by aqueous alterations. In the collector aerogel and foil samples of the Stardus…
The presence of clathrates in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Wurz, P.; Fuselier, S. A.; Rubin, M. +6 more
Cometary nuclei are considered to most closely reflect the composition of the building blocks of our solar system. As such, comets carry important information about the prevalent conditions in the solar nebula before and after planet formation. Recent measurements of the time variation of major and minor volatile species in the coma of the Jupiter…
Detection of argon in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Wurz, P.; Bochsler, P.; Altwegg, K. +28 more